Jera Ivanc, Laren Polič Zdravič
Turandot
Turandot is a Queen in a faraway land. She is wise, beautiful and righteous. She rules well. There is one thing though: she refuses to marry. Tired of the constant pressure from her mother, she takes an oath: she will marry the man who will be worthy of her – who will manage to overcome her strenuous physical test and solve three riddles. For 21 years, none of the suitors have been successful. At the beginning of the musical, a mysterious stranger appears … And overcomes the test. Turandot refuses to give in. She will not marry – yet as it seems now, she does not any longer have a choice …
Turandot , 2019
Fairy-Tale Musical
World premiere
Performance length is 1 hour and 45 minutes and has 1 pause.
Creators
Composer
Laren Polič Zdravič
Director
Jana Menger
Dramaturg
Eva Mahkovic
Set designer
Niko Novak
Costume designer
Bjanka Adžić Ursulov
Choreographer
Maja Delak
Repetiteur
Jože Šalej
Language consultant
Martin Vrtačnik
Sound designer
Sašo Dragaš
Lighting designer
Boštjan Kos
Assistant to composer
Manca Trampuš
Assistant to choreographer
Veronika Valdes
Assistant to repetiteur
Ana Erčulj
Actors
Turandot
Viktorija Bencik Emeršič
Viktorija Bencik Emeršič
Queen mother
Mirjam Korbar
Mirjam Korbar
Ling
Tina Potočnik Vrhovnik
Tina Potočnik Vrhovnik
Kalaf
Gregor Gruden
Gregor Gruden
Executioner
Karin Komljanec
Karin Komljanec
Chorus
Filip Samobor
Filip Samobor
Gargoyles
Veronika Valdes, Neža Blažič
First angel
Boris Kerč
Jure Henigman
Second angel
Nataša Tič Ralijan
Nataša Tič Ralijan
Young Turandot
Lara Wolf
Young Kalaf
Voranc Boh
Music on tape is performed by:
Dejan Gregorič (violin)
Barbara Gradišek (cello))
Manca Trampuš (vocal)
Laren Polič Zdravič (keyboard and guitar))
Mastering
Matej Gobec, The Cosmosonic Studios
The oldest literary depiction of the motif of the irresistibbly attractive princess setting riddles to her suitors is found in the Persian epic from the 12th century Haft paikar (Seven portraits) by Sufi master Nizami from Ganja. In the West, the motif was mostly used by theatre and music artists, such as Gozzi, Schiller, Puccini and Brecht. The new musical adaptation of the Turandot motif, commissioned by the Ljubljana City Theatre, wanders freely among the motifs of the earlier adaptations, creating a musical play with the elements of a fairy-tale, tragedy and comedy, showing love, honor, treason and greed, and, above all, tackling one topic: what it means to be human.
The libretto is written by Slovenian classical philologist, playwright and dramaturg Jera Ivanc and the original soundtrack by composer Laren Polič Zdravič.